This is a thought‐provoking book. It is a wide‐ranging commentary on the role of libraries and library services at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. Although it is written in a flowing, easy to read style the author expresses some strong opinions and challenges the reader to confront a range of issues. It clearly assumes that readers are, or have been, librarians or at least closely involved with libraries.
The book is divided into four sections, and there are 11 chapters spread across the sections. Within each chapter many sub‐sections have descriptive headings. As a small paperback book, it is easy to carry and I found it to be very easy to dip into. There is a useful index and the text is interspersed with a range of literary quotations and a handful of relevant diagrams. The introduction and each chapter finish with a notes section which contains a range of references to books, news articles, professional papers, quotations and Web pages as well as additional comments.
The first section, entitled “Libraries and communications technology”, contains three chapters. The first chapter (1) is an overview of libraries today, the second (2) a survey of communications technology from the 1870s until today and the third (3) reviews the current use and challenges of technology in libraries.
The second section, entitled “Reading and the Web”, consists of two chapters. The first (4) considers the notion of literacy and what this means in a digital and technological world. This is followed by a chapter (5) which explores the nature of the Web, and how it affects the interpretation of concepts such as documents, ephemera, preservation, what really is recorded knowledge and what is worthwhile recorded knowledge.
The third section, entitled “Library work and the future of libraries”, contains four chapters. These address reference work in technologically advanced libraries (6), cataloguing in the digital age (7), the challenges of digital documents (8) and the importance of research to the library profession (9). Scholarly communication, publishing, preservation, bibliographic control, metadata, literacy and library education are but some of the critical areas identified as needing clear and focussed research.
The fourth and final section is entitled “Overcoming stress and achieving harmony”. The first chapter (10) in this section contains a number of tactics for overcoming information overload and stress. This is followed by the final chapter in the book (11) in which the author postulates that a philosophy and an ethic of librarianship will benefit both individual practitioners and the profession as a whole.
The overriding premise of this book is the assertion that in order to understand the impact of technology on society in general, and on libraries in particular, we need to have a clear view of the history and evolution of communications technology. The author states that there have been previous periods in history in which technology had a transformational impact that was at least comparable to our situation today, and that learning from the past will assist librarians “to deal with the present rationally and face the future without fear”. He does not hesitate to question many aspects of new technologies and the effects they are having on librarians and library services and to suggest alternative ways of thinking and working. Although I do not agree with all of his suggestions I will take up his challenge of taking time to think outside the box and to consider the wider environment. I recommend this book as a way to review your views on what is and is not fundamental to libraries, and to explore how you balance the incorporation of the important issues into both your personal and professional life.
